Each Tuesday, the North Texas Job Corps Center (NTJCC) input new students and every Wednesday those same students are formally welcomed via a luncheon in their honor.  The New Student Luncheon is eloquently executed by the students of the NTJCC Culinary Arts program who plan and prepare the menu to serving the new students.  This event along with other special events is what helps set the foundation for a student’s success within the program.

Students like Illinois native Brianna Charles, Hayiza Ahmed and Ashenafi Habteyohannes of Ethiopia are proud graduates and/or soon-to-be graduates of NTJCC.   Charles will graduate this coming September, completing the Culinary Arts and ServSafe certifications.  Ahmed completed her career training in Culinary Arts and will be pursuing a second trade in Nurse Assistance-Health Occupational Training. 

Habteyohannes graduated in 2007, where he completed the Nurse Assistance and Electrical training program and is currently employed with Home Depot.  Once he can afford to return to school, Habteyohannes plans to further his education at Collin Community College to purse Bio Technology; where he hopes to fulfill his dream of working in the Health Care industry.

“In my country, I would not have been able to afford the training I received from North Texas Job Corps and I will always be grateful for the training I received,” states Habteyohannes.

The NTJCC embraces students from across the globe and currently serves a student body where a little more than seven percent of its student population consists of Asian and Pacific Islander.   The majority of students are African American (56.48 percent), White (17.96 percent), and Hispanic (17.59 percent); however, NTJCC is proud to know their program is not only making a difference in the lives of students domestically but, internationally as well.

One of the ways the NTJCC is making a difference is giving students like Brianna Charles who since the age of 13 lived in foster homes the confidence she needs to be successful.  Many of the students who join the NTJCC are high-school drop-outs (over 60 percent) and are unemployed, which alone are two factors that can affect a persons’ confidence. 

When a student joins the NTJCC they will quickly be exposed to a Positive Normative Culture (PNC) and participate in the Guided Group Interaction (GGI), which is an activity used to celebrate accomplishments on a weekly basis and foster a positive environment.

“Joining North Texas Job Corps Center has made my self-esteem go above what I could have imagined.  I thought when people looked at me they were going to make fun of me, but instead they gave me compliments and that made me feel much better about myself,” explained Charles.

“I have become more confident because participating in the program has helped me learn more English and feel more confident when communicating with my peers and teachers,” stated Ahmed. 

“Ethiopians are naturally very quiet and reserved.  Coming to Job Corps gave me the confidence to get outside of my comfort zone and speak up more,” stated Habteyohannes.

Confidence matched with competence is two great qualities any employer desires from their employee.  Home Depot located in Dallas (Forest Lane location) saw those qualities in Habteyohannes and hired him from part-time to full-time.  Since his employment with Home Depot, Habteyohannes has been recognized with perfect attendance for one year and received the Outstanding Employee Award in 2009.

All three students have not gone without facing their share of challenges throughout their training at NTJCC.  Many students when joining the program will face challenges such as: adjusting to a structured environment, abiding by a curfew, peer pressure, and/or learning how to live with roommates (students can live with up to seven roommates). 

“Being from another country, the cultural differences were definitely a challenge for me.  The first three months were the most difficult because I was learning how to live with other individuals and going through those experiences were a great teaching experience,” advises Habteyohannes.

The Graduate Benefits Program also provides an important service for graduates like soon-to-be graduates, Charles and Ahmed.  Charles plans to get an apartment and work to save money to pursue her dream of attending the Culinary Institute of America; while Ahmed will further her education by enrolling in the NTJCC Nurse Assistant program than later pursue her LPN certification. 

The Graduate Benefits Program is designed to help students both financially and professionally.  Each graduate receives 750 dollars of their 1200 dollar allowance upon completion of their Career Technical Training (the remaining balance goes to their career advisor to help the graduate with relocation and/or transportation expenses), Career counseling; Job placement assistance for up to six months; and Relocation counseling services.

According to Habteyohannes, “the Graduate Benefits Program was very helpful to me, especially my career advisor.  She kept me informed about upcoming job opportunities, as well as helped me maintain a positive attitude while waiting to find a job.”

Both American and International students share a universal goal when they walk through the doors of NTJCC; they are coming to find a better opportunity.  NTJCC is the stepping stone for so many of its graduates looking for a better opportunity.  It is a shared sentiment from each of these students that NTJCC is a great place to come to get the foundation you need in building your dreams.

“I think it is a great place to get your life together and get ahead of the game.  Job Corps is just another stepping stone for me so I can reach my dream of becoming a chef and owning a restaurant,” states Charles.

For more information about the NTJCC and its programs, visit www.northtexas.jobcorps.gov or call (972) 542-2623.

As songwriters and performers, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson have long ranked among the most acclaimed and admired creative couples in contemporary music. Their award-winning collaborations began over four decades ago.

Having completed a course in modern dance at the University of Michigan in 1964, Ashford moved to New York from Detroit to pursue a career in the theater. He was homeless when he met Simpson, a Bronx native, who had studied piano since the age of five and was playing and singing with the White Rock Baptist Church’s legendary choir in Harlem.

Nick joined the choir and the two began writing songs. That year they recorded an original song, “I’ll Find You” for $75. They were soon signed to the legendary Scepter Records as staff songwriters, breaking through in 1966 when Ray Charles landed a major hit with their composition “Let’s Go Get Stoned.” This led to their signing with Motown Records, where they penned the classic Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hits “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Your Precious Love, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy to Come By.” They also wrote hits for other Motown greats, most notably Diana Ross, who launched her solo career with a hit remake of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” that was produced by Ashford & Simpson. The duo also wrote her hits, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” and “The Boss.”

While Simpson scored with a pair of well-received solo albums for Motown in the early 1970s, it was with Warner Bros. Records that the now married couple fully realized their artistic vision. From 1973 to 1981 they released nine albums, which included such unforgettable hits as “Send It,” “Don’t Cost You Nothin’,” “It Seems to Hang On,” “Love Don’t Make it Right,” “Is It Still Good to Ya” and “Found a Cure.” The hit making continued after a move to Capitol Records in 1982, with “Street Corner,” “Highrise,” “I’ll Be There for You,” and of course, “Solid,” which topped the rhythm and blues chart in 1984 and crossed over to No. 12 on the pop singles chart.

They continued writing and producing for other artists, including Ben E. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Chaka Khan (they wrote her hit “I’m Every Woman”) and Quincy Jones (they co-wrote and performed on his hit “Stuff Like That”).

In addition to their artistic endeavors, Nick and Val are equally and continuously involved in community service. Ongoing activities iinclude Simpson’s membership on the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Board of Directors and her role as a national spokesperson for the Speaking of Woman’s Health organization. For his part, Ashford serves on the Board of Directors for George Faison’s Firehouse Theatre.

The duo has received many honors and awards but the two that stand out as special milestones include a street sign in the Bronx Walk of Fame, in commemoration of Valerie Simpson’s achievements by her proud neighborhood. She presented Bryant Park with a park bench inscribed with “Nick Ashford slept here,” symbolizing the long journey they’ve traveled together since that fateful day at White Rock Baptist Church.

The event will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2010 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel.

Did you know that Social Security is the only source of income for almost one-third of Texans of retirement age? Or that one in eight Texas residents receives Social Security? Or that the program lifts nearly half of all retirees from poverty?

This month, as our nation celebrates the diamond anniversary of this national treasure-signed into law on August 14, 1935-it’s also time to guard against false assumptions that undermine support for the program and threaten to erode retirement security for our children and grandchildren.

For example, it’s become conventional wisdom for young people to assume that Social Security won’t be around when they need it. Many older folks also question whether Social Security will be able to pay the benefits they have earned.

These doom-and-gloom scenarios are unwarranted and reflect widespread misunderstanding. The Social Security trust fund has about $2.5 trillion in assets, and it’s still growing. That’s enough to cover full benefits for more than 27 years.

If Congress does absolutely nothing, Social Security can pay full benefits until 2037 and 75 percent of benefits for decades after that. That’s not the crisis that alarmists predict, but it’s also something we cannot allow to happen.

Some in Washington are proposing cutting Social Security benefits to reduce the deficit. Of course, we need to get our deficit under control. But rather than raiding the retirement security of future generations, why don’t we start by getting the government to crack down on wasteful, fraudulent, and unnecessary spending, including earmarks and pork-barrel projects?

Social Security has contributed not one penny to our national deficit. The program is self-financed and cannot legally spend more than it collects through payroll taxes, the taxation of benefits, and the assets in the Trust Fund. In fact, for years, Social Security’s surpluses have masked the true size of the deficit in the rest of the federal budget.

It pays to remember what America looked like when Social Security arrived. In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “one-third of the nation (was) ill-housed, ill-clad, (and) ill-nourished.” The nation’s elderly suffered the most. Nearly half lived in poverty. Those could not work and had no other means of support wound up in poorhouses.

By signing Social Security into law, Roosevelt established what has become the bedrock of economic security for millions of working Americans and their families. In addition to supporting those age 62 and older or disabled, Social Security benefits help all generations. Orphans of the September 11 terrorist attacks, families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, children who have lost a working parent, injured factory workers, widows and widowers – all count on Social Security benefits.

And, yet, as vital as these benefits are, they are modest by any standard. Social Security was never designed to be a worker’s sole source of retirement income. Today, the average workers’ benefits will replace only about $4 out of every $10 earned while on the job. The average retirement benefit in December 2009 was only $1,168 per month – about $14,000 a year. The average benefit for retired women was even less — $983 a month — which comes to under $12,000 a year.

With the political will, we can address Social Security’s long-term shortfall. Changes should strengthen the program for future generations. Changes must be fair, protecting the most vulnerable. Changes must be consistent with Social Security’s character as an earned benefit, providing a measure of economic security through guaranteed life-long, inflation-protected benefits to those who have paid into the system.

We need a national discussion on how to restore retirement security for all Americans. Old-fashioned as it might sound, that dialogue should be civil. It should be bipartisan. It should include strategies to promote more retirement savings in addition to Social Security, such as through incentives to save in the workplace, especially where employers do not offer 401(k) plans.

For Texans, keeping Social Security strong should be something we all can agree on. It is one insurance policy we know is fair, with benefits earned and received by all who pay in.

We all have a stake in getting this right.

Ms. Ollie Besteiro is the President of the Texas AARP

It’s time for my favorite annual holiday – which technically isn’t an “official” day, but actually several weeks leading up to one BIG day. YOUR day may not be the same as mine. But trust me, it’s the one holiday most seasoned parents look forward to more than all the others combined. It’s the Back to School Season, and yes, I am so glad it’s finally HERE! I’ve got my Mardi Gras beads on, I’ve hung celebratory colored lights on the bushes and trees outside my front door; and have prepared a monumental feast with all the trimmings that we’ll still be talking about come Thanksgiving. All in celebration of the fact that my son goes BACK TO SCHOOL (also commonly referred to as the “I Survived a Summer with a Teenager in the House” holiday).

One of the great things about working for The Nielsen Company, the world’s largest market research company which provides measurement services for industries like media, online, mobile and consumer packaged goods is that we conduct all types of great studies. Nielsen recently released a Back To School Forecast based on more than 110,000 UPCs in the school supply category, and more than 400 million school supply transactions at U.S. food, drug, mass merchandiser stores (including WalMart), dollar, club stores and online sales. We forecasted a modest increase in dollar sales on Back to School items, up 1.7 percent to $2.6 billion. The Forecast makes a few relevant observations including this one:
Shop Now, Shop Early: Many prices for Back to School items are up in 2010 compared to 2009. Nielsen’s research shows that the lowest prices are available in July (down 55 percent) and August (down 50 percent.)

As a parent, you don’t have to tell me to shop early – I’m already there! And not just for the price savings. I’m already piling up the shopping cart with spiral notebooks, #2 pencils and multi-colored index cards with visions of my couch pillows and cushions being returned to their natural plump state vs. the pitiful deflated look of someone-has-been-lying-on-me-for-12-hours-straight-playing-video-games they have been shamefully boasting for the last nine weeks.

In the Forecast my colleague James Russo states, “Unlike the holiday season, many consumers view back to school shopping as required versus discretionary purchases.” I totally agree! It is required that I restore harmony to my “there’s nothing to do around here” home by joyfully and strategically overstuffing that $40 backpack with a rainbow of supplies: pastel pink erasers; black, blue and red ball point pens; yellow and blue highlighters (which will disappear before the end of the third week of school, but not to worry, I have already hidden the back ups).

The reason parents view these items as required is because, once they are in hand, we can officially mark the day we get our sanity back – and sanity is required to get us through the next nine months. How else could we handle the ongoing saga of “Have you finished your homework? What do you mean you don’t have a pencil? I just bought you 10 packs of pencils three weeks ago!” See? You need sanity to come out on top of discussions like that.

The July – September “Back to School” season is important for the $7 billion office/school supply category, generating nearly 40 percent of annual dollar sales and more than 50 percent of annual unit sales. Nielsen forecasts Back to School unit sales for this category to drop 5.25 percent to $1.04 billion. So even with the decline, our Back to School shopping really adds up. Are you using your consumer power wisely by shopping at stores which support your schools and/or community?

Parents of school aged children unite! Education continues to be critical to African Americans. Be sure your child is in school on Day One and that they not only have the supplies they need to be successful students, but your support as well. No matter how harried you get, take the time to look your child in the eye and ask them each day, how their school day went. Help your child with their homework every night (even if that means calling the ex who understands math better than you). Our kids are our future. Which means your kids are my future, and vice versa. So I’m counting on you to do your part. And I’ll do mine.

Now, with our school supply shopping completed and handled with care, let the holiday officially begin. Happy First Day of School!

Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations for The Nielsen Company, the world’s leading market research company. For more insights and studies visit www.nielsenwire.com.

In addition to the health and wellness, education and green pavilions popular in past years, visitors this year will have access to more than 250 vendors that offer everything from decorations and dresses to cakes and music for a very special quinceañera or wedding.

The expo, presented by Chase Bank, will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, at the Dallas Market Hall. Information will be available in English and Spanish.

“Viva Dallas Hispanic Expo is the premier event in the metroplex for Hispanics who want to learn about the latest products the market has to offer in everything from health to green construction,” said Rick Ortiz, chairman of the board of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “This year, we are including a pavilion that is very important to the culture and traditions of the Hispanic community everywhere—the quinceañera and novia pavilion. We are proud to be able to include this important rite of passage to our community in Viva Dallas!, making it a truly family event.”

In addition to the quinceañera and novia pavilion, hundreds of exhibitors in a variety of fields in the Health and Wellness Pavilion, Green Pavilion, and the Education Pavilion will provide visitors with free health screenings, information on higher education, information on environmentally friendly cleaning products, office supplies, and more.

Expo visitors will be able to get valuable tips on how to make their homes more energy efficient and what they can do to help the environment at the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association Going Green Pavilion. Exhibitors will have information on environment-friendly construction supply companies, eco ideas for the home, recycling, energy savings, water conservation, going green in the bathroom, transportation, environment-friendly cleaning products, and much more.

In the Education Pavilion, sponsored by The University of Texas at Arlington, families will have the opportunity to speak directly with college and university representatives, who can answer their questions about admission requirements, scholarships, financial aid, and housing. School district representatives also will be on-hand to talk to students and parents about how to be successful in middle and high school and how to make a smooth transition to college.
Expo visitors will be able to receive free mammograms and breast health information, participate in a blood drive, view exercise demonstrations on stage, and receive vision, spinal, kidney and dental screenings and many other tests from physicians from area medical centers like The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center–Dallas, Baylor Health Care System, Carter BloodCare, Baylor College of Dentistry, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Children’s Hospital, American Red Cross, D/FW Area Health Education Center, the Dallas County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation, Methodist Health Systems, Metrocare Services, National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, North Texas Poison Center, YMCA and YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas, and Parkland Memorial Hospital.

“You can’t find this sort of resources anywhere these days,” Ortiz said. “This is a great opportunity for all Hispanics to come meet with health providers and businesses that understand our community’s needs and are happy to work with us to offer the best services possible—all in one place. I can’t think of a better way to find out how to make your house more energy efficient and plan a quinceañera.”

Communications and entertainment companies will offer information and demonstrations about the latest products. Chase and other financial institutions will offer expo participants information on savings, loans and bank account
options.

Local radio and television stations will have live remotes from the Dallas Market Hall and several exhibitors will have free giveaways and product demonstrations.
Other Viva Dallas! Hispanic Expo sponsors include State Farm, Verizon, Coca Cola and Texas Lottery.

“Thanks to everyone at the Hispanic chamber, the Regional Hispanic Contractors and our generous sponsors, the Viva Dallas! Expo promises to be the place to be the weekend of Aug. 7 and 8,” said Mike Trevino, Chairman of the Board of the Regional Contractors Association. “It is a one-stop-shop for all the information Dallas Hispanics will need to improve their health, their education, and the environment. No one should miss it.”

Many applauded Judge Bolton’s decision to block the controversial sections of the law which would have allowed police to request proof of citizenship of anyone they suspected of being an illegal alien. Her ruling was indicated there is a good chance the federal government will prevail in its lawsuit against the state of Arizona and the enforcement of this element of the law should be put on hold until it is resolved in the courts.

The case is expected to weave its way up to the Supreme Court of the United States.

 Delgado was put on the national kidney transplant list, and he started kidney dialysis three days a week for three hours a day at the end of June. He goes to his doctor twice a month to have his kidneys monitored and has had to get several blood transfusions.

 Born in Mexico, Delgado, now 28, has lived in Oak Cliff since he was three. He was a three-sport athlete at Adamson High School playing four years of baseball and two years of football and basketball. He said he was always active and never got sick.

 But one morning last August while on vacation at Miramar Beach in Tampico, Mexico, Delgado woke up vomiting blood. He was taken to a doctor who informed him that he needed to see a specialist because his blood pressure was high and his red blood cells were attacking his white cells.

 Delgado went to see a nephrologist, and after running tests, the doctor gave him the bad news: his kidneys were failing. He was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, or Berger’s disease. “This only happens to one in 10,000 people in the world,” the doctor told him. “You’re the unfortunate one.”

 IgA is a protein that helps the body fight infections. When too much of it builds up in the kidneys, it can cause the kidneys to leak blood and eventually to fail.

 According to Dr. Darrin D’Agostino, chair and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, the disease usually progresses slowly or not at all. It can exist undetected for years, and by the time symptoms appear, total kidney failure may be near. But only 25 percent of adults with Berger’s disease develop end-stage kidney failure, D’Agostino said.

 Berger’s disease causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, swelling of the hands and feet, and blood in the urine; so Delgado takes 10 pills a day.

 “It’s real strong medicine, so you kind of can’t concentrate right, but you try to do the best,” Delgado said. “You forget things sometimes. It’s hard to concentrate in class and taking tests.”

 But the worst thing is the pain.

 “I wake up sore. I go to sleep sore. It feels like somebody just hit my back really hard. Your back hurts all the time. You get nauseated in the morning throwing up. You lose a lot of weight. I’ve lost 50 pounds. Sometimes your face gets swollen in the morning because your kidneys are not processing the liquids.”

 He is not able to drink any alcohol and very few soft drinks, and he has to maintain a low sodium diet. “I don’t eat that much outside. My wife does the cooking.”

 The disease also causes anemia, which is difficult for someone who used to be so active. Sometimes when Delgado stands up his nose starts bleeding; and he can’t exercise because he gets winded just walking the short distance from the parking lot into the UNT Dallas building.

 Delgado told his wife, Martha,—a kindergarten teacher at Rosemont Elementary School—that they had to get through this. “It’s not the end of the world,” he told her. After his diagnosis, he went to his priest and asked, “Why me?” His priest told him that things happen for a reason and that it could have been worse.

 Delgado was put on the kidney transplant list after going through a series of psychological tests. He said he wasn’t depressed after his diagnosis but that it is always on his mind, making it hard to concentrate.

 “I’m going to have to take medicine for the rest of my life, and a kidney transplant is not a sure thing either because the body can reject the kidney. You can die.”

 Delgado tries to focus on the hope of getting a new kidney, and surviving.

 “I haven’t lost hope. I have a lot of family support. I even have a couple of friends that have told me, ‘If you need a kidney, I’ll give it to you.’ That makes me feel really good.”

 Last spring he had a biopsy done and had to miss two days of class. He called Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Eric Coleman from his hospital bed to tell him that he wouldn’t be in class. Coleman said he admired Delgado for calling him, especially from his hospital bed.

 “I looked over at David in class one day and it became clear to me that I didn’t have a problem, not when you think about what he is facing,” Coleman said. “We encounter students that are not as engaged in coming to class and doing those things that they should be doing as a learner.

 “Then you see David who is undergoing all of these personal life issues and crises but still performs at optimum levels and never misses. You don’t encounter persons with those issues that have that sort of tenacity and spirit. Most people going through this would drop out of school, but this guy has stayed in. He inspires me.”

 Delgado said he has learned a lot from Coleman, not just as a professor but also as a regular person outside of class. “I told him that he’s one of the best professors I’ve had in my college career.”

 UNT Dallas made it possible for him to get his degree, Delgado added. He had to take two classes at UNT and would have to get up at five in the morning to drive all the way to Denton.

 “It’s just really helpful having the Dallas campus here. I think it’s a pretty good place, real good teachers. It’s accessible. I think it’s a pretty good campus,” he said.

 Delgado works full time for Smart Start installing ignition interlock devices on the cars of people charged with DWI. The system prevents cars from starting if it detects alcohol on a driver’s breath. He hopes to land a job in corporate security after graduating in December.

 Did he ever imagine something like this happening to him?

 “No, I had big plans to start a family, finish my degree on time, travel and enjoy other things.

I like to travel a lot. My wife and I saved up money to go on trips. We’ve been fortunate to take trips to Europe.

 “I was a healthy guy. I don’t do drugs. I don’t do heavy drinking, nothing like that. It’s sad that it happened, but like I said, it’s something I have to get through.”

 Delgado said he had noticed on his driver’s license the organ donation option and wondered why someone would agree to donate a kidney or a heart.

 “Now I understand why.”

The past few days have been very troubling and emotional for all of us. My family has not only lost a son, but a fellow police officer and a private citizen lost their lives at the hands of our son. That hurts so deeply I can not adequately express the sadness I feel inside my heart.

My deepest sympathy goes out to Officer Craig Shaw’s family, the Lancaster police Department and to the citizens that he was attempting to protect. I also want to express my sympathy to the family of Jeremy McMillian. I have reached out to both families. I pray that both families find comfort from their faith, family and friends during this difficult time.

As police officers we reach out everyday to people who need our help and guidance. It makes me proud to stand with you side by side and be part of such a recognized and accomplished police force. Public support and confidence in our department is strong and extends from the Mayor’s office and City Council offices to the City Manager’s office, and most importantly to the citizens we serve. This support derives from a variety of sources but none more important than the hard work performed daily by the men and women of this department. As you go about your daily duties protecting the citizens of Dallas, please be mindful of your surroundings and look out for one another.

I want to thank the many people who have emailed me or tried to call me. I have not been able to return your messages but I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers. I know many people are praying for my family and me and that gives me enormous comfort.

God bless you and your families and the citizens of Dallas.

Chief David Brown
Dallas Police Department

U. S. Rep. John Lewis was headed for the Capitol to vote on President Obama’s health care bill in March when he was pelted with racial epithets when passing near a group of conservative Tea Party protestors.

Days later, reports of attacks on Democrats around the country included bricks smashing through windows, a potentially lethal gas pipe cutting at a home thought to be owned by Virginia Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello.

According to reports, the FBI announced the agency would investigate Tea Partiers and a race hate group as potential suspects.

The madness continued into the spring as former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, and others accuse the Obama administration of trying to kill the elderly with death panels in the health care bill. He is also called a Marxist, a Socialist and a Nazi by Tea partiers and associated radical conservatives.

Meanwhile, also, in March, Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is roundly criticized by the state’s NAACP after he declares a Confederate History Month while neglecting to mention the cruelty and inhumanity of slavery – a deed for which he apologized.

Among more recent racial flare ups, Arizona passes legislation that appears to unleash racial profiling on Latinos or anyone who police might perceive as an illegal immigrant; then the state of Texas passes a law to distribute history books with a conservative bent that presents slave-owning confederates as heroes.

Finally, the Obamas’ oldest daughter, 11-year-old Malia, becomes the target of mocking by a conservative talk show host after the president quotes her as asking if he had “plugged the hole” in the BP oil crisis. The mocker, Fox News’ Glenn Beck, ultimately apologizes.

But are apologies enough to calm the apparent smoldering atmosphere of racism that has intensified since the election of President Barack Obama? Both Black and White authorities on racial hatred say what’s really needed is a voice of reason within the Republican Party.

“The reality is that the people who could really tamp this down are not doing so,” says Mark Potok, spokesman for the Birmingham-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a foremost authority on race hate incidents around the country. “There are large numbers of Republican officials, so-called responsible leaders of the party, who are doing absolutely nothing to tamp down the outright falsehoods, the defamatory propaganda that’s being pumped out into the political mainstream.”

Potok, Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., and civil rights icon Rev. Joseph Lowery all agreed on mainly two things in interviews with the NNPA News Service. One – that racial tension in America has grown since the election of President Obama. And two – that it could be quelled by a voice of reason rising from the Republican Party.

“Most White people who are on the adverse side of this question would not admit it, but absolutely, much of this is due to the fact that they simply can not accept the fact that we have a Black leader in this country,” says Lowery. “Without the Black president, we wouldn’t have all this heavy tension and lightening rod activity that’s driving us further and further apart.”

A civil rights stalwart who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lowery knows what it takes to quiet the currently smoldering atmosphere that he says he has not seen since the 1960s. He says it takes a person who is respected by the aggressors to rise up and call for peace.

Potok agrees, but says at this point, it will be difficult to quell the political, race and anti-government tensions.

“This genie may be very difficult to get back into the bottle. It would have been a hell of a lot better if some of the more ostensibly main stream figures in our society had said something about this long ago. Now we’re actually seeing people driving airplanes into IRS buildings and murdering Pentagon police officers and leaving coffins on the lawns of congressmen.”

Levin of the Brudnick Center, agrees with Lowery that the reason the racial temperature is out of control and will likely continue to surge is simple:

“It is the Obama factor. It is a big factor. Having an African-American as president has brought out the worse in some White Americans and it’s brought out the best in others … There are many Whites who voted for Obama, who continue to praise him, who think he’s a great president, but then there’s the other side of the coin. The problem is that it is a small but growing number of extremists who are concerned about foreign influence and they see Obama as a Marxist, a Socialist, they question whether he was born in the United States. They see him as attempting to destroy our country. And these are the same folks who are likely to join some White supremacist group or civilian militia organization. They are so concerned about what they see as an erosion of American culture and the American economy and they blame the Black guy who holds the most powerful office in the world.”

Potok says most of the political angst is really not coming from organized militias.

“I don’t think these are organized hate groups. These are by in large more or less every day citizens who are very fearful of the way the world is changing around them and who have been whipped up in a kind of white hot anger,” he describes.

“Rather than seeing the changes in the world around us, the kind of globalization of the economy, the increasing diversity of our society and other societies as something that is simply occurring in the course of history, they are demonizing certain groups and saying they are responsible for these things. So that is the problem. It is the identifying of phantom enemies and whipping up the broad masses into a fury about it.”

The name-calling and labeling of President Obama as Marxist, Socialist, etc., have been among the worse offenses, says Potok.

“These things are all utter falsehoods and yet the people in responsible positions of the party have done almost nothing to play this down and in fact have played it up,” he says.

The current frenzy has roots in 9-11, Levin points out.

“The war on terror is part of it. Certainly 9-11 made lots of Americans of any race feel uncomfortable or more insecure about their personal safety. But that’s a small part of the whole thing,” Levin says. “Immigrants of color come into this country from Latin American countries and other parts of the world as well. And whenever the economy goes sour, the immigrants get blamed. That’s part of it.”

In America’s history of racial strife, there have rarely been instances in which White leaders actually take the responsibility to speak against wrongs unless pressed to do so. Such was the case with President Lydon B. Johnson as he called for the passage of the Voting Rights Act, declaring “We shall overcome” after the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” attacks on civil rights protestors in Selma.

But, Johnson was considered to be a friend of racial equality. It is even rarer when a foe rises up and speaks with a changed heart.

Levin concludes, “It would be wonderful if someone who has a reputation for extremism or racism would take the other side and would come out for tolerance and respect.”

Late last year, an initiative began to promote the retailer’s in-house store brand of grocery products, called Great Value,” said Darlene Quinn, a former senior executive with the Bullocks Wilshire department store chain and author of the novel Webs of Power from Emerald Book Company (www.darlenequinn.net). “Store brands are nothing new to supermarkets, as every store makes use of them. These are typically products that are manufactured and packaged in the same facilities that make name brand products like Kraft, Arm and Hammer, Hefty and others. The retailer can price them lower than their name-brand counterparts, but they make more money on them because they own the product lines. It’s a win-win for the store and the consumers who choose those generics over comparable name brand items.”

Wal-Mart’s hiccup occurred when the retailer, in an effort to increase sales on their store brands, began eliminating comparable name brand items from their shelves late last year. When they wiped more than 300 familiar products off their shelves, something unexpected happened — many shoppers began buying groceries elsewhere, Quinn said.

“The prevailing wisdom seemed sound,” she said. “With a harsh economy and high unemployment, it would seem logical that price would be the primary consideration for consumers. After the shift on the shelves took place, shoppers conversely decided that they would rather pay more for groceries in order to bring home the brands their families preferred than switch to the generic at Wal-Mart. So, they left, and in far greater numbers than Wal-Mart ever anticipated.”

According to Kantar Retail-Management Ventures Inc. and Advertising Age Magazine research, Wal-Mart’s sales growth fell by 2 percent, while all its key competitors — Target, Kmart, Kroger, Costco, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General — all posted gains. Kmart, which was down 5. 4 percent in 2009, gained 1.7 percent in 2010, charting a 5.3 percent swing.

As a result, Wal-Mart began restoring many previously cut name brands to their stores, with Arm and Hammer and Hefty products, among many others, reappearing on Wal-Mart shelves in April.

“In my mind, there really was no need for Wal-Mart to make the change,” she said. “I think they just got a little greedy. They are the 800 pound gorilla, so they thought they’d throw their weight around a little to chart better profit performance. What they discovered is that the real 800 pound gorilla is the consumer. Despite Wal-Mart’s market dominance, consumers are the ones with the dollars, and they vote with those dollars far more often than retailers think.”